Support for Boston trending big at SDSU

In this Monday, April 15, 2013 photo, Boston Firefighter James Plourde carries an injured girl away from the scene after a bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston. The FBI's investigation into the bombings at the Boston Marathon was in full swing Tuesday, with authorities serving a warrant on a suburban Boston home and appealing for any private video, audio and still images of the blasts that killed at least three and wounded more than 170. (AP Photo/MetroWest Daily News, K
— AP

In this Monday, April 15, 2013 photo, Boston Firefighter James Plourde carries an injured girl away from the scene after a bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston. The FBI's investigation into the bombings at the Boston Marathon was in full swing Tuesday, with authorities serving a warrant on a suburban Boston home and appealing for any private video, audio and still images of the blasts that killed at least three and wounded more than 170. (AP Photo/MetroWest Daily News, K
/ AP

It was a simple show of support by a San Diego State University student trying to get her arms around the city of Boston and the explosions that rocked the city's beloved marathon Monday: #SDSUlovesBoston.

SDSU senior Lauren Yap, the features editor at The Daily Aztec, the school's newspaper, added it to a tweet of hers at 5:35 p.m.

Someone with 126 followers favorited and retweeted it, and Yap's subsequent request to retweet her hashtag got just four retweets. Hardly a viral beginning. But what happened next shows in a small way the power of solidarity and social media. Read on to see what these students did and the explanations they gave me for doing it.

San Diego State University students got their hashtag trending in the city of San Diego, not an easy feat with so many subjects darting through Twitter on any given day, let alone a day like Monday. Even SDSU's official Facebook account noted their success.

Related

San Diegans are helping in other ways, too. In Coronado, flags were lowered to half-mast. And calling it a "a small gesture but a massive symbol of our support to the people of Boston," Phileas Foggs Bar & Restaurant in Scripps Ranch is raising glasses and money for Boston Tuesday. Our story.

Early on, Yap involved fellow journalism student David Frerker and his wider social network. The aspiring sports journalist turned to SDSU almuni with even bigger followings: Oakland Raider Miles Burris and Chicago Bull Malcolm Thomas, who shared the hashtag with thousands more people. Newscasters like NBC's Artie Ojeda and CBS' Carlo Ceccheto took up the cause Monday, and a request to Marshall Faulk, one of the most popular Aztecs ever, was rewarded with a retweet just before 11 a.m. Tuesday to his 450,000+ followers, giving renewed life to the hashtag.

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Bogdan Rau, the public health graduate student at SDSU, told me he started the fundraising campaign because he wanted to share more than thoughts or prayers. He wanted to help the American Red Cross and one gravely person wounded in particular.

As my friends and I were glued to the TV / Internet to get updates from Boston, I realized that there are ways that we could go beyond sending thoughts and prayers. I saw a picture of one man who had lost both his legs in a blast that was being transported in a wheel chair away from the scene. This picture struck a cord.

I decided to start a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo for this man as well as the Red Cross of Boston. My effort coincided with the #SDSUlovesBoston trending hashtag and through the power of social media, Lauren and I connected and joined forces to spread the word about the campaign. Our goal is $5000.

Frerker said he helped get #SDSUlovesBoston trending "to show our community's support." Yap's explanation is even more inspirational.